Resident charges Fredon mayor with assault

FREDON — The mayor of Fredon, Carl Lazzaro, will face allegations of simple assault and harassment at a July 12 court appearance stemming from a confrontation with Louis Ratti, a township resident. The assault and harassment allegations were filed by Ratti on May 21 with the Andover Borough Municipal Court, which handles criminal matters for Fredon.

Lazzaro allegedly physically pushed and verbally harassed Ratti on May 1, when both men were at the scene of an automobile accident in Fredon.

According to Ratti, the former member of the Fredon First Aid Squad was at his Fredon home when he heard a call for an ambulance crew come over his personal police scanner.

Ratti, who is currently not a member of any rescue squad in Sussex County, said he got into his car and responded to the location of the accident. He then proceeded to administer first aid to the victim, he said.

Ratti claims that when Lazzaro arrived in the Fredon First Aid Squad ambulance, he pushed Ratti off of the accident victim and verbally harassed him. Lazzaro is the captain of the Fredon First Aid Squad.

"I have every right to go to an emergency scene," Ratti said. "I am a well-respected member of the EMS community."

Lazzaro declined to comment on the incident and referred any questions to his attorney, Gary Kraemer, Sparta.

"Mr. Ratti seems to have a long-simmering dispute with every emergency squad in the county," Kraemer said. "It is unfortunate that (Ratti's) personal vendetta has boiled over and put the general public at risk."

According to Kraemer, the case will be prosecuted by the municipal prosecutor for Andover Borough as a criminal complaint and will have to pass the judicial merits for such charges to be levied against Lazzaro in court.